Disclosure:  I have/ maybe/ do/ could have/ subscribed to Stratfor.  Stratfor is a great source of analysis that I compare to the Economist.  Anonymous and now Wikileaks have figured out that people and companies will pay for geopolitical analysis. Brilliant. Continue reading “The shadow CIA” | the joke is finally on wikileaks

The degree of financial malaise is highlighted by this story.  It is a classic tail of rationalization of investment (present value of investment and interest rates) but if we apply common sense it just not stand up at all. To Pay New York Pension Fund, Cities Borrow From It First | NYT The public employers that borrow from the pension system essentially contribute less than they owe in a given year, and agree to repay the difference, with interest, over a decade. and this The state’s borrowing plan allows public employers to reduce their pension contributions in the short term … Continue reading States including California, Connecticut and Illinois have been borrowing to pay, or even deferring, their pension bills

Eurozone agrees biggest bailout in history with Greece | times The deal, which gives Greece a financial lifeline in exchange for strict surveillance of Athens, came after 12 hours of tense talks in Brussels that saw Lucas Papademos, the Greek Prime Minister,act as go-between for ministers with negotiators for private creditors. Continue reading Euro ministers agree on a Greece deal | Feb 21st, 2012

As a Scotsman and a life-long supporter of the conservatives, I must note that David Cameron has displayed massive ineptitude in accommodating Alex Salmond and his crazy arguments.   My 92 years old mother refers to Salmond as a windbag.  Windbags should not be accommodated. The SNP have gone from no-where (in a UK sense) to now defining the next two years.  Its obvious that if Scotland left, then the conservatives would own the next 20 years of general elections.  But that should be a problem to solve for the conservatives, rather than even allowing the contemplation of a country break … Continue reading Scotland 2012 (Salmond) is reminding me of Quebec 1976 (Levesque)

A great example of why a 2 tier approach to law exemplified in Russia, is bound to suffer from the natural weight of lack of fairness eventually. The topic here is the blue lights that government and top officials carry on their cars and which allow them to ignore traffic laws and making them right on case of accident, a withe the doctor in this piece, killed (half way through) and blamed for it. Russian Protesters Don Their Own ‘Blue Lights‘ Continue reading Russian protesters use the ‘blue lights’ in a smart protest

While Lloyds has an operating profit of £2.7 billion, losses from mis-selling of payment protection insurance, new writedowns on loans made by HBOS  and restructuring costs mean the bank will suffer a loss of £3.5 billion.  This would normally be just another bad bank story, but the visibility surrounding Lloyds and RBS which demonstrates similar losses serves to highlight the payment of bonuses yet again.  £4bn losses for bailed-out banks | Sunday Times Nonetheless, he is due to receive shares worth about £660,000 that were awarded as part of the £2m bonus he was handed for his 2010 performance. Senior … Continue reading Losses at RBS and Lloyds highlight hamstrung government owners

There is likely a little grandstanding for the benefit of the Euro leadership in Michalos comments, yet as a technocrat it only makes sense to consider the implications of all alternatives. Athens rehearses the nightmare of default | ft.com On Friday afternoon, Constantine Michalos, president of the Athens chamber of commerce, sat in his office – around the corner from where protesters were hurling chunks of marble at riot police – and contemplated what was once unthinkable: “All hell would break loose,” Mr Michalos said, sketching a society that would quickly run short of fuel, food, medicine and necessities. “You … Continue reading Greece ponders the unthinkable